


Flaws

by slightly_depressed_niko



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Dystopia, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-25 20:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9841706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightly_depressed_niko/pseuds/slightly_depressed_niko
Summary: Nico di Angelo's got himself into troubles. Troubles which mean running away and trying to not get killed by the authority. Will Solace is a local medic. And what has he done to deserve being accused of helping a runaway? He only tried to live a peaceful life!





	

Nico cursed himself. Why couldn’t he be at the least a little careful? Why couldn’t he watch his actions and words? He felt so dumb, but it was already too late. Nothing could change his fate now.

But what on earth was he thinking? ‘Oh, let’s insult government which can kill me without a bigger effort in front of thousands of people! Yes, it sounds like a great idea!’ Was it something like that? No, no… Nico wasn’t thinking at all back then. He was simply too reckless. Maybe if he considered the way his words may affect his safety, then it would not end up like this… But he hadn’t considered shit.

Nico slowed down. He’d been running for good twenty minutes. It was enough, wasn’t it? He didn’t even know where he was anymore. Well, the city was huge in general, so it was quite easy to get lost, but still.

The skyline was sprinkled with luxurious skyscrapers, and each was more impressive than the next. Comparing to the cities in the neighborhood, the quality of life was very high in this area, and it undoubtedly had attracted a lot of attention. Surprisingly, despite the popularity, the city was lacking in any touristic attractions and so. Instead, it was filled with hundreds of places of work, transport, and education. Nico hated the buildings there. He thought there were lacking in privacy. Big windows were something what every building, no matter of its purpose had. Some of the offices and schools barely had regular walls anymore. They were rather made of glass, making it easy for everyone to see what was going on inside.

The fast trains and vehicles, in general, were coming in handy. It was easy to get from one place to another in less than a few minutes, and it didn’t require a lot of effort from you. The modern technology was indeed very useful, as well. You could do almost everything by just clicking a few buttons, the Internet was full of the most helpful information, and it was great to do quick researches.

But Nico saw the bad sides of all of this, too. He wasn’t certain if the rest of community was dumb or they didn’t want to admit how awful their lives in fact were. Or maybe they weren’t stupid ones, and Nico was for expressing his hatred? The whole society seemed to be perfect from the outside. What was the problem, then?

First of all, a constant use of vehicles, all the newest inventions and lots of factors were creating air pollutions. Very dangerous air pollutions, actually. When you looked forward, you could see a picture perfect city, brand-new technology, silver buildings, beautiful skyscrapers. But when you looked up at the sky, everything was gray. Literally. Instead of beautiful blue sky, you saw gray clouds. It seemed as if it was always a rainy weather there, although, in fact, it was not.

Nico also hated the government, the laws, everything that was making him do things against his own will. You would think everyone did. You would think people were smart enough to do something against the awful, animal-like laws, but no. Apparently, after what met Nico, they were as dumb as the authority was. Or maybe they weren’t? Maybe Nico was simply an idiot for trying to have his own opinion and expressing it in public. Maybe he was an idiot for not shutting up when he should. Maybe he was an idiot for not thinking about the consequences. Maybe. Or not.

The whole community was built on the idea which Nico liked to call 'we are leaders so we can do whatever we want, and if you disagree, then we’ll see you at your own funeral’ or something like this. Even if the rulers were the biggest fools and had no idea about their own work, you couldn’t complain. And if you did… Well, then they would quickly eliminate you.

Nico looked around, trying to analyze his surroundings. There was a large building in front of him. It didn’t seem to be very different from the others. It was high, so it appeared to be touching the dark clouds up above; huge windows were showing off almost each floor, besides several last ones on the top and there were large elevators visible inside.

On his right, there was a train station. He saw a lot of people waiting there, and it made his guts squeeze with anxiety. There was no way he was going there. If any of those people heard or saw that he was wanted, then he was screwed.

He looked back at the building and swallowed thickly. There were obviously a lot of cameras. But honestly, what was the difference? He bet that the whole city was full of recording devices. If he was lucky enough, he could get out of there by the back door or just… hide somewhere inside. It was not the best plan, but he couldn’t think of anything better at the moment. He shouldn’t stay in one place for too long, right? Eventually, someone would recognize him, and it wouldn’t be anything good. He was not sure if his condition was good enough to run now. He needed to rest for at the least a few minutes, or he would pass out from exhaustion.

Nico ran his hand through his hair before hanging his head down as he headed towards the entrance of the building. What was the worst thing that could happen? Cameras notice him? Someone recognize him? He would handle it, wouldn’t he?

The building inside was as big as it seemed to be from the outside, if not slightly larger. Nico entered a long hall with flat, gray walls and marble floor. The dullness of corridor was not encouraging at all. There was literally nothing. No people, no furniture, nothing.

He kept walking, just to see an elevator at the end of the hallway. He glanced back to see if there was anyone behind him, pressing a button so the elevator would open for him. He stepped inside and instantly closed the transparent door, leaning against the wall. There were around three hundred floors. At the least, Nico assumed so. The number of buttons was apparently smaller. He couldn’t get why.

Nico pressed the button with the highest floor and crossed his arms, waiting as the lift moved. One, two, three… It seemed to take forever. He watched the door carefully, observing the changing views. He would hang his head down whenever he saw any people, but the lift didn’t stop.

Eventually, he felt a sudden pause. He thought that he reached his destination, but it wasn’t it. Someone stopped the elevator. Nico tensed up, clenching and unclenching his fists. They knew he was here, didn’t they? Oh, it was clear that they would find him. Why was he even trying to escape? It was pointless, wasn’t it? No, no, he was not going to let go so quickly. He was going to fight back, if necessary. The door opened, and a tall guy entered the lift. He pressed some button, without even looking at it, before turning and standing next to Nico.

He couldn’t help shifting a little away as he stared blankly at the floor. He didn’t want to gain too much attention or stare at the other, but he still glanced up at him with a corner of his eye. He had curly blond hair, which he apparently tried to smooth back, assuming after a hair gel glistening in his hair. It didn’t work the best, though, as some of the locks changed their position, making an attempt look almost ridiculous. But Nico had nothing to laugh about. He reminded himself that this guy could be here to arrest him or something. But he stayed quiet as Nico kept eying him. He was tanned, and there were freckles splattered all over his face and down his neck. Nico assumed his whole body was covered in them, but it was impossible to see because of the dull white uniform made of a long-sleeved jacket and usual jeans.

Somehow, the guy must have noticed Nico staring as his gaze flitted to him and their eyes met. Nico immediately looked away, nervously picking on his nail. He felt the other’s stare on him, and it was awfully uncomfortable; as if he were reading his mind. Although Nico didn’t look up anymore, hoping the blond would quickly leave an elevator, he still heard a quiet hem. He kept his eyes glued to the ground as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world, ready to stop the lift and run. He excepted the guy to be a cop, to arrest him, to attack him, to threaten him… But neither of it happened. Instead, he spoke up softly with the gentlest voice Nico’s ever heard.

“I’ve never seen you around,” He stated, “You’re not working here, are you?”

Nico didn’t reply at first. He licked his lips nervously and scoffed, looking up with a corner of his eye, noticing that the other was still staring at him.

“I think you already know the answer,” He said in a somehow calm voice, although deep down he was screaming.

The guy nodded a little and leaned his head back against the wall, crossing his arms over chest. He was still eyeing Nico carefully, which made a panic rise in his chest.

“Can I see your ID?” He asked with the same polite tone, but Nico was too suspicious to trust his friendliness. There was no way he was giving him his ID. He wasn’t insane yet.

“Why?” Nico asked, instead of answering and arched an eyebrow in rather a hesitant manner.

The blond shrugged. “You seem lost, I thought I could lead you to your destination.” He explained simply, and Nico scoffed.

'Well, if my destination is jail or a coffin, then no, thank you,’ he thought to self, though he didn’t dare to say it out loud. He only shook his head and gazed at the screen above the door which showed changing numbers of the floors. He swallowed a dry lump in his throat thickly and tugged on his bottom lip, finally speaking up again.

“I’m fine, thanks,” He said, precisely pronouncing each word. But unluckily, the blond didn’t seem to get it. It annoyed Nico. How can one not understand simple phrases? Was he stupid, stubborn or was he actually a cop? No, if he were a cop, he wouldn’t start a small talk with him. He would go straight to the point.

“I’m Will,” He greeted, holding out his hand to Nico. He cringed slightly at the idea of shaking hand with him but managed to force himself to mimic other’s movement and shortly shook his hand, moving it away almost right after. Will gave him a weird look and raised an eyebrow. “And you?” He questioned, apparently not satisfied with the lack of an answer.

“It’s your floor.” Nico pointed out instead when the elevator stopped. Will glanced at the door but didn’t leave immediately. His eyes flitted back to Nico, and he saw him chewing on a lip nervously. He seemed to think about something for a moment before shrugging it off and stepping towards the exit of the lift.

And then, when Nico thought he was free and ready to keep going; the alarms went off. His eyes widened as red lights blinked inside of a lift, letting out such loud noises he thought he would go deaf. He looked around, and his eyes flitted back to the blond, who seemed to be confused and terrified at the same time. Nico didn’t blame him. Who wouldn’t be? Well, if he were trying to arrest him and were the one to turn alarms on, he wouldn’t act like this, would he?

Nico wanted to try and run, but Will was faster. He took a step forward, attempting to leave an elevator but he couldn’t as if there was some kind of force field.

“What the hell?” He shouted, banging his hands against the invisible wall. “I want to go out!”

Nico gazed around, noticing a small camera in the corner of the lift. It was way more visible now when its lens turned reddish, and Nico was mad at himself. He was not careful enough again, and he hadn’t noticed it earlier. He hit the device with his fist, but it didn’t cause any damage to it. It made him even more furious.

He turned around to the other, who was desperately hitting the force field and groaned, “Stop! It’s for nothing. We’re stuck.”

“And how can you know that?” He asked, turning on his heels to face him. His bright eyes were wide and an eyebrow arched.

Nico swallowed hard and sighed, “I just do. Just calm down, okay?”

“I am the calmest person on the earth, mister… What even is your name?” He snapped, running his fingers through his blond locks and tugging on them slightly in an anxious manner.

“Nico.” He responded, gazing over Will’s shoulder at the door. It was closed, and he didn’t even realize when an elevator started moving. But instead of going up, the numbers of floors on the screen began to get lower and lower…

“What are you even doing here? You just come here and- and disturb my work! I am supposed to be in the office at the moment. Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Will rambled out, shaking his head. “They’re going to kill me, oh my, oh my, oh my, do you even…- How am I supposed to explain it? I got stuck with some guy in an elevator and… Oh dear, I’m so dead, I’m so… I’m so dead! What… Where are we even going? Why me? Why not Cecil?”

Nico felt a sudden urge to kick other’s shin. Why wouldn’t he shut up? The alarms wouldn’t shut down, stupid red lights kept turning on and off, and that guy wouldn’t stop rambling about how screwed he was. Nico was screwed, too. Probably even more, than the blond was.

“Could you shut up?” Nico snapped, clenching his fists, “I can’t focus when you babble and babble! I get that you’re panicked, but fuck, shut up!” He hissed through gritted teeth.

Will instantly closed his mouth, staring at Nico in shock as if he did something unbelievable. His light locks fell over his face, and some of them were sticking to each other because of the amount of hair gel in them.

“It must be a mistake,” He added quietly after a moment, and a small frown appeared on his features.

Nico sighed, and his eyes flitted back to the camera in the corner. “No, it’s not…” He mumbled out under his breath.

They were both screwed.


End file.
